“Mr. Temple,” asked Nick, “did your uncle keep anything of special value in this room?”
“What do you mean by special value?” asked Mr. Temple.
“Something which your uncle especially valued, was very careful of and generally kept hidden.”
“I know of nothing of the kind,” replied Temple. “Why do you ask that particular question?”
Nick pointed to the pictures, saying:
“It would look as if the thieves, in hunting for some special things which they did not find, had hunted behind every picture in the room. The inference is that they knew that some object of value, which they were anxious to obtain, was concealed somewhere within this room.”
The young man, Temple, looked curiously at the detective, as if the remark of Nick indicated a shrewdness not known to him, but he made no reply.
“Do you miss anything from this room?” asked Nick.
The young man closely examined the room, and, completing his investigation, came back to Nick to say:
“I miss two rather valuable bits of bronze that my uncle picked up abroad. However, it may be that before leaving on this journey these bronzes and other valuable things were picked up and locked away. You see, I only stay at the house occasionally, and though I am here nearly daily, I am yet not as familiar with it as if I was living here all the time.”